One of my favorite Greek foods are Dolmas. They’re a mixture of meat, rice and spice (although sometimes they’re served vegetarian as well) rolled into a yummy grape leaf and then steamed. They are also sometimes served cold, but I prefer them hot like they’re served at the Greek Food Festival. The combination of the salty from the grape leaf and the tangy from the spices inside is so wonderful and unlike anything you normally eat. They’re usually served as appetizers, but I could make a whole meal out of them!

Another awesome part of the Festival are the Souvlaki, which are grilled kebabs made with chicken, pork or lamb. Here they were served in flat bread with wonderful tzatziki sauce. I like to think of it as similar to American baseball food, a delicious grilled flavor with creamy sauce.

And who can bypass the traditional Greek dessert called Loukoumades. They are basically small fried doughnuts covered in honey and nuts and they are unbelievable. That’s all there is to say.

Of course these are not the only goodies available, there are plenty of options from meals to drinks and sweets. There are also a selection of pre-packaged foods for sale, as well as crafts and art. Although this year’s festival is over, make sure to set a date to go next year. It’s well worth it to try some delicious cuisine for a small price.

I’ve been wanting to make pumpkin muffins for a month now. My fall cooking plans start early since I can’t seem to wait that long to enjoy them. However, my plans have so far been dashed.

Last year there were reports about a pumpkin shortage during Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I never once saw any effects since the store shelves were always fully stocked and I was able to have my fill. I laughed that apparently this crisis had passed us by. But this shortage seems to have reached us a year later as I see so many types of fruit preserves and canned fillings on the shelves, except for my beloved pumpkin. I’m not laughing anymore. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold out and I guess I’ll have to soon go out in search of a recipe for making my own puree. However, this also poses a problem as most stores aren’t even carrying regular pumpkins yet, if at all of course. I can only hope this is not a hint of things to come and I won’t have to picture the fall and winter without the delicious pumpkin treats.

When I was younger Smores were one of my favorite treats. The combination of crunchy and creamy and messy was pure delight for me. As summer draws to a close, what better way to celebrate the end of warm summer days than by experiencing that taste of a childhood summer treat? Although, smores have moved way beyond a marshmallow and chocolate between two graham crackers. They’ve even become, dare I say, sophisticated in some respects.

I’ve collected some of my favorite recipes that offer the perfect combination that I remember from years past.

Smores Cheesecake
The first recipe I came across a while ago, and even included it in my last cookbook collection as the perfect dessert for Mother’s Day. The graham cracker crust and tartness of the chocolate cheesecake goes perfectly with the sweet and creamy marshmallow topping. This recipe comes from Epicurious and goes perfect with a selection of berries.

Smore Cookies
From the Bakergirl, these cookies shove everything that is good about smores into little cookies of heaven. Chunky and melty, these keep all the mess of a smore contained.

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake
This milkshake takes the wonder flavor of a fire-licked marshmallow and puts it in a smooth summer treat. The Curvy Carrot adapted this recipe and its a wonderful summer smores treat in a glass.

Smores Bars
This dessert from Let’s Dish are similar to their original counterpart, but take the ingredients and mix them all together in an amalgamation of all that is holy smore goodness. Complete with the oozing marshmallow.

Smores Cups
Pham Fatale takes the wonderful treat of a smore and adds another delicious ingredient, peanut butter. The small serving dish makes this recipe perfect for an adult party, while also offering a childhood reminder of summer.

It’s a little rough, but this is my first attempt at the Photoshop Pen tool. The lyrics are from a really good song from the 70s by Melanie.

It was completely unintentional, but I love how Miranda looks like a red-headed Ramona Quimby

I first began by drawing all of the pictures of the women, desert, trees, etc. and then set them up to photograph them. I wanted something cartoon looking and bright. I was also incredibly inspired by the portions of the movie Paper Heart that featured their own animation starring drawings and paper cut outs. It was my intention to show how ridiculous the idea of placing these women in a Muslim country by showing that in real life they would end up in some hot box prison in the middle of the desert for their crimes against the country’s religious, conservative laws.